The Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, when complete, will be the largest hydroelectric power station in Nepal with capacity of 900MW. However Nepal will only receive 12% of produced energy rest going to India. Water from the Karnali River will be used to generate electricity through the run-of-the-river method. This project is currently in the final proposal stages and is expected to be operational in 2021

In the past, dolphins were found abundantly in the Koshi, Narayani, Karnali and Mahakali rivers and their tributaries throughout Nepal. In recent times however, they have been spotted only in the Karnali and Koshi river systems.